A few weeks ago for the kids "fall break" we decided to visit the nearby (4 hours away) beach in Rocky Point, Mexico. We did this two years ago with our friends and it has taken that amount of time for JP to decide he was willing to go back. The drive is easy even with the border crossing and it is all made even simpler because we go with another family that has been many times. They know which houses to rent and where to stop for beer and other necessities in town. Both times we have stayed in houses that are the outskirts of Rocky Point so we are not venturing into town with the locals and other tourists. It is a pretty quiet existence particularly on Thursday and Friday when we saw few others out on the beach.
The tide is very interesting in the Sea of Cortez (Gulf of California) and there are actually two high tides and two low tides each day with meters and meters of difference between the two. The beach has a sharp incline where the waves crash pretty hard during high tide but when it is low tide there is a vast flat expanse of sand and tide pools where we can run and play. This is my favorite part and I really loved getting up in the morning and taking my coffee down to the waters edge to wade in the water and see what the ocean was offering. The tide would be going out again in the evening and we would wander down after dinner to explore.
This year we had some very windy days which really churned up the sea but that did not deter the older children (of all ages) from trying to wage battle with the waves. The boy and his buddy donned life vests and would charge through the crashing waves to get to a "calmer" spot where they could bob along until they decided to brave the return. If you did not time it right the incoming wave would pick you up and slam you right into the shell-covered beach. It was a good workout so the adults would attempt it as well much to the laughter of everyone watching safely from the sand.
There were hours floating in the water and digging in the sand. We all got scratched up from the shells and appropriately pink, red, and brown. After dinner the kids would pass out and JP and I would sit on the porch and watch for shooting stars, study the planets, and debate where the planes were headed. We had a great time . . . can't wait for JP to be ready to return.
